St. Thérèse of Lisieux in her autobiography Story of a Soul translated by John Clarke, taught believers “the little way” of trust and absolute surrender to God.  The first 15 years of her life was spent as a devout Catholic and for nine years she lived a cloistered life as a Carmelite nun.  She wrote the story of her brief life in ink with no thought that it would ever be published.  On Good Friday, April 13, 1896 she suffered her first hemoptysis (coughing up blood due to a lung hemorrhage).

The facsimile edition of her manuscript was difficult to read because of capitalizations, underlined words, size, position of slant letters, with occasional corrections.  Students of hers were still able to locate texts in the original manuscript.  The translated version however offered clear themes of love, abandonment to God’s mercy, and mission in the church.  She saw the way of spiritual childhood as the path which led to eternal life.

Manuscript & Readers

In fits and starts, St. Thérèse wrote in her spare time while she was ill.  The manuscript first published in 1898 in a highly edited version was praised by its readers.  It became a spiritual classic, read by millions, and was translated from French into other languages.  For over 20 years, it was a best seller.  Story of a Soul was originally the collection of three different manuscripts addressed to different persons in 1895, 1896, and 1897.

St. Thérèse’s legacy to the world was her personal message about being like “little ones.”  Her teachings came out of human experiences.  To accomplish these tasks she ascended to the summit of heroic virtue – what she described as “my vocation is love.”  She believed we must be like little children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and viewed God as the keeper of “little ones.”

Beatification & Canonization

During the process of beatification and canonization Pope Benedict XV, and Pius X1 endorsed her beliefs.  They hoped her teachings would be brought to the attention of the world.  St. Thérèse, who was considered the greatest saint of modern times frequently meditated on the Gospels and the Old Testament.  Her work has remained a source of deep religious inspiration, and believers think it came about through Divine Providence.  The centennial celebration of her death was in 1996 – 1997.  Story of a Soul’s translator, John Clarke, was a devotee to this “Little Flower.”